Scotland

Apologies for the delay in putting up a new post here but major laptop issues and a ton of running , climbing and driving about Scotland has left me with no time at all.

I arrived back in Scotland 2 weeks ago and was greeted to some cracking weather straight away so just had to head out. I went up to Arrochar and went a little hill run up Ben Donich. I have never been up this Corbett before and I am so glad I finally went. It has a brilliant runnable trail all the way to the top with only a couple of small steep sections that are fine. I was greeted with stunning views of the west coast although it was a tad chilly with a very brisk wind. The ascent took well under an hour and the very very slippy descent took me under 30 minutes. Cracking little day.

Great Trail to Summit

One of best view I have ever seen in Scotland

I then managed some of my local hill runs around Largs the next couple of days , some in the mornings and one fantastic night run. So after 4 10k runs in 4 days next up was my first 10k race in many years. I don't really like short fast races because to be honest I ain't really that fast but I just love to enter races and thought this would be a good way to improve my flat running speed. The race was in a place called Benmore Gardens not far from Largs, There was around 80 runners at the start line for two laps of a 5km circuit through the Botanical Gardens. 3 , 2 , 1 and off. I was a bit taken back by the speed of the start , totally not used to it. I was never going to properly compete in a race like this(or any for that matter) but once I started and realised this was all out or nothing then I just went for it. The course had a couple of little brutal climbs in it which definitely added a couple of minutes over a flat 10k but overall the course was really really nice and I loved it but my legs and lungs did struggle with the fast pace. I finished in 5th place with a time of 40 minutes.

Largs Night Run

After the 10k

The next few days were spent with Lauren and Fleur who travelled up to Scotland so I could show them around the highlands and do some running. I managed my usual little Glencoe scramble up North Buttress a few hours before meeting up with them and then the next day returned to do it again. The weather was not that great to us( it poured every day) but we got out for some cracking runs.

Glencoe - Beautiful

Glencoe next day - Wet and Cold

Showing Lauren the sights of Largs during a Trail/Field Run

Lauren , Fleur and Me

I knew where I was going all along

Next up was a trip to the Lake District in England to catch up with loads of friends , some of whom I hadn't seen for years. The first night and the cottage was a rather sober one for Lauren and myself as the next day was the Ennerdale Trail Race. I was doing the 50k and Lauren the 25k , her longest race yet and first trail race. It was a proper miserable morning , pouring down with rain. I set off feeling pretty good just plodding my way up the forestry road for about 12km to the Black Sail Youth Hostel then it was across the river and back down the other side of Lake Ennerdale on some brilliant trails. One lap was the 25k and 2 laps was the 50k. Coming into 25k at 2hrs 16mins I was feeling okay but not great. I didn't seem to have the usual spring in my step and my hip was hurting a little. I grabbed some more gels from Fleur and James and set off again. I did not enjoy the road section at all this time. I totally hate long roads , it bores the life out of me. Plus I was feeling pretty sore all down my left side , left foot , left knee , left hip. It was not going too great and my pace really really dropped. It started to totally pour down when I got to the hut this time but the weather didn't really bother me , I actually quite enjoy running in foul weather. Once I got past the hut and across the bridge it was now 12km to the finish. I was still not great but managed to keep up a decent jog. About 4 people passed me here and I was just waiting on hordes of others to do the same. Then somehow I started to feel really really good. I looked at my watch and I was at 42km! A marathon and now I was finally in my stride. Sounds crazy I know but I guess this is just what my legs are used to now. From 42km to the finish I really had a great pace going and once I hit the final 4km very technical and wet part on the lakes edge I was actually flying along it. I could see everyone who had passed me what seemed like ages ago and I was gaining on them fast. Now I was still well back in the pack but I just wanted to pass these people and I did. I managed to overtake all of the 4 in the last 4km and still finish over 3 mins ahead of them all. I finished in 5hrs 10mins , 26th/96. I am happy with my 2hr 16min first lap but pretty disappointed with the second loop of 2hrs 54mins. This was totally down to the second road section which was 12km long. It totally drained me. If I was better on the flat road and was feeling a bit better then I am sure this could be cut down to 2hrs 30mins or less if I ever do it again. I do think as well though that the past few weeks of being very ill was not the best prep for this race. Small things just didn't work for me. My eating was not right over the whole course and stupid little things like forgetting my water bottle and not having my usual electrolyte drink and more importantly forgetting my vaseline all played with my head a little. I just didn't seem well organised going into this but I still can't complain. I enjoyed most of the race and still finished. Big shout out to James and Fleur for coming along to support for the day in the miserable weather as usual it does mean a lot to have people come help out. I am super happy with my pace on the final section as I was loving it and really had great speed on a part most people were down to a walk to try and negotiate the techy parts. These people were well faster than me on the roads but to be honest they didn't stand a chance once I got to the bits I love and train on all the time. So over to Lauren. First 25k , First trail race and how did she do?? well she only went and got 1st place female didn't she. Totally amazing stuff from her and I was so happy for her as I knew she was a bag of nerves before the race. She came through at 2hrs 18mins. Pretty much spot on my first lap time. All this training together must do some good as we were running the race at the same pace. Her race started 15 mins after the 50k so we never managed to run any of it together. I had a feeling she could totally get a top 3 place as I usually come in around the same time as first female on my races and Lauren on distances up to Half Marathons is well on pace with me. I must admit I didn't quite expect her to get first! Amazing stuff from her and really inspiring. Watch out all other female trail runners , Woody has arrived.

Km 35 , Horrible Road but still happy. Just!

So I have rested for the past 5 days and have my final race of the year on Sunday. The Culloden 17k. Oddly enough a 10 mile road race. There are no other trail runs around at moment and this is organised by CHSS who I raised money for in the summer so it will be nice to finally meet some of these people and try and enjoy running on a road best I can. This is also going down as speed work. Will stick up a report for that next week.

What a little legend. Award given by fell running god Joss Naylor

Scary Times

So my horrible run may not have been due to a lack of salt or proper fuel but it looks like it was the beginning of my body shutting down and telling me to stop.

The day after the Crochue experience I was fine but when I woke the second day after things were not too pretty. I felt a bit funny when getting ready for work but thought nothing really of it then but as the day went by at work I slowly started to get worse and worse. I was super tired and always putting my head down to dose off for a few minutes but more worryingly I was starting to get really dizzy. When 7pm arrived and we were closing up shop I was in a proper state as my work colleague looked at me rather worried as she had seen me get worse as the day went on. It was straight on home to bed. I crashed out in no time but waking up the following day I was very worried. I couldn't walk to my bathroom without holding onto the walls either side of me and I was horrendously dizzy to the stage where I could feel myself ready to just collapse. This went on for the next 3 days then I decided to go to the hospital. The doctor properly examined me and my balance but told me I had no viral infection and that I was actually fine and would get better and if I didn't in a few days go back for a blood test. I was happy he said I was not in real trouble but worried as I was still really dizzy and could hardly walk properly without looking like and feeling like I was completely drunk. I did slowly begin to get better and 10 days after it all started I was pretty much back to normal but still taking it really easy and resting. Apart from a very bad case of food poisoning a few years back this was definitely the scariest thing I have ever felt. At least with food poisoning you know what it is and it will pass just like when you catch a bad does of the flu or some sickness bug you know what it is and it will go away but with this dizziness I had no clue what it was and how long it would last.

There are a load of suggestions as to what it was that caused the problem but the most obvious one could be that I have just done too much this summer. This does kind of make sense but since Leadville I really have not pushed my body at all and have rested a fair bit so that is the reason I have my doubts. People seem to think I absolutely beast myself all the time but that is so not the case. I trained smart this summer just going easy , even on long runs I wasn't going all out and never do. I rested when I knew I should and I ate properly or so I think. I am more inclined to believe that yes this was the summer catching up with me and my body just wanted a proper long rest for a few weeks and this is the only way it found it could stop me from doing anything and it worked. I must admit in summer I do take my fitness pretty serious but let my guard down in winter quite a bit and I think this could be one of the other main reasons for my shut down. Yes I ski loads over winter and tour a fair bit but yes I do have way more nights out. It is pretty obvious that 6 months of skiing and partying then going straight into 6 months of fitness and no alcohol does not work or does not work for me any more. Not that I am old but I ain't 21 any more. So this really has given me a kick up the arse to take it easy or should I say easier this winter with regards to the nights out and I am really focused to do this now. I am at a great fitness level right now and want to just slowly keep this for as long as possible. I am not going to train hard over winter but I plan on definitely running twice a week through the snow and ice plus I will be touring and if I cut back on the nights out I believe this will have me in a decent shape for starting to properly run again come late April/May and I will be ready for races again come June. Just like a lot of the serious ultra runners they take the entire winter off from running and just ski mountaineer race to give their body time to recover and recuperate until the next running season. Now obviously I ain't near that level of fitness but it does seem like a very wise strategy to adopt.

My last 2 days off have been spent
recovering up at the Midi café staring at all
the new fresh snow dreaming of winter.

In all honesty I do not run that many races a year. I would race loads more if I lived in Scotland or somewhere that doesn't get an epic winter of skiing powder. In the Alps there really is not many races over the winter season , well running races. It is all ski mountaineering races and I am not sure if I have the cash yet to invest in the kind of gear for this but you never know. I would like to run more Ultras over summer but due to work and the cost of entries and travel to and from the event it is just not possible. I am happy with it this way at the moment though. I like having one big race a year to aim for and do some others along the way. I am really looking forward to these 3 races in the UK in the next few weeks but have no idea how they will go or how I will feel after this little problem. The 10k next weekend for example will be somewhat strange. I have not run a race of this intensity for years , many many years so have no clue what to expect. Over the years I have trained to run slow and steady and go on forever but 10ks are all out sprints and I reckon this could be a shock for the legs and the lungs next week. I was never a fast 10k runner anyway, my best ever in a race was 42mins on a trail which did have a fair few climbs. Other than that my local 10k in Largs I have done in 39 mins. Yeah I guess these times are not slow but I have friends who run 33-35mins 10ks. Not a chance for me. So who knows next weekend 40-50 mins??? I have no clue. Graham did say to me the other night maybe I should do a lap of the 10k before the race to get warmed up! This is actually a good idea , without sounding totally big headed this does make sense as when I am out on big races or long runs it does take a good hour for me to kick in. Sometimes even longer. Getting my legs to go maximum speed from the start is going to be hard. The week after is the Ennerdale 50k and I cannot wait for this. Again no aspirations for a time but I was looking at photos from last years race and it looks amazing. There is some dirt road sections but one long section by the side of the lake on what looks like awesome single track heaven so really looking forward to this one. Lauren is running the 25k event so I will hopefully be able run with her for a bit as the 25k is one lap of the lake and the 50k is 2 laps , we set off 15 mins apart but sure she will catch me up. Then to finish it all off I have a road race! A 17km run near Inverness. I am doing this to try and get some momentum on roads again , I noticed in America just how good the Americans were on the flats and it is because they have the space to train on flats unlike me in Chamonix which is up and down America has great long flat sections and in big Ultras loads of time is won and lost on these flat sections and I to be honest am rubbish on them. I can keep good pace on trails , little ups and downs , steep technical descents but then I hit a flat road section for say 4 miles and boom my legs go heavy and it is hard to keep the momentum going. The Americans were great at this. Also the race is organised by CHSS Scotland who I raised over £1000 for doing Leadville so it will be good to meet the people who I have only spoken to through email all summer.

11 days without these on was hellish

So today I managed a little run. 11 days of being unwell and sitting around resting was a bit of a nightmare but had to be done. I am still not 100% but went out for a 7km very very easy pace flat run today along some road and some trails. It went quite well actually. I was not really that dizzy when running. It is quite hard to turn my head quickly to the side when going forward but if I just focus on the road in front then I am fine. As I said it was a super easy going 7kms in 40 mins. It felt great to be back out doing something again. I will rest tomorrow and on Tuesday I fly back to Scotland for 3 weeks so my next run may be the 10k race or if I feel good I will do my local 10k on Wednesday or Thursday. Slowly easing myself back into it.